Double-ended plastic clothespin

ABSTRACT

A double-ended, one-piece, plastic clothespin which includes a pair of juxtaposed, spaced-apart leg members joined by an integrally formed, transverse web at the midpoint of the leg members. The web is sufficient thickness and resiliency to provide the spring action for gripping of an article on a clothesline between a pair of spaced-apart legs provided at either end of the clothespin.

United States Patent [72] Inventors Paul A. Merchant Kansas City; JohnC. Armbruster,1ndependence, both of Mo. [21] Appl. No. 878,110 [22]Filed Nov. 19, 1969 [45] Patented Nov. 30, 1971 [73] Assignee EthylDevelopment Corporation Kansas City, Mo.

[54] DOUBLE-ENDED PLASTIC CLOTHESPIN 1 Claim, 5 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S. Cl 24/137 R [5 I] int. Cl D061 55/00 [50] Field of Search24/137, 138, 255 GP, 81 D, 81 DM, 137.5

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,611,161 12/1926 Clerke24/138 1,810,542 6/1931 Trupiano 24/138 2,429,557 10/1947 Maccaferri24/138 2,543,336 2/1951 Ratchford 24/138 X 2,885,758 5/1959 Russo etal... 24/138 3,384,935 5/1968 Salvador 24/137 R 36,394 9/1862 Cone24/l37.5 UX 2,563,236 8/1951 Gragg.... 24/137 UX 3,521,332 7/1970 Kramer24/81 CC FOREIGN PATENTS 206,091 1 1/1923 Great Britain 24/138 644,2344/1937 Germany 24/138 Primary Examiner Donald A. Griffin Allorney-Donald L. Johnson ABSTRACT: A double-ended, one-piece, plasticclothespin which includes a pair of juxtaposed, spaced-apart leg membersjoined by an integrally formed, transverse web at the midpoint of theleg members. The web is sufficient thickness and resiliency to providethe spring action for gripping of an article on a clothesline between apair of spaced-apart legs provided at either end of the clothespin.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This inventionrelates to a double-ended, one-piece, plastic clothespin, moreparticularly to a clothespin having an in tegrally formed web-thatprovides both the attaching means for the legs and the spring means forthe gripping action of the opposed legs.

2. Description of the Prior Art While double-ended clothespin are wellknown in the prior art, all prior double-ended clothespins have utilizedseparately formed leg members joined together by various means.

In U.S. Pat. No. 1,875,461 the two halves of the clothespin are joinedby a conventional helical spring means having arms extending towardopposite ends of the leg members. In US Pat. No. 2,615,221 theseparately formed opposed leg members are joined together by means of atransversely mounted helical spring or by a rubberband positioned at themidsection of the clothespin. US. Pat. No. 2,871,538 discloses adoubleended clothespin wherein the two halves are joined by a pair oftransversely positioned headed pins at the center of the clothespin.Additionally, leaf springs are provided on the exterior of the legmembers to provide additional clamping force. US. Pat. No. 3,137,906discloses a two-ended clothespin having the separately formed legmembers joined by means of a helical spring inserted in a bore providedcentrally of the leg members. The two-ended clothespin disclosed inU.S.' Pat. No. 3,084,410 utilizes two separately formed leg membersjoined together by means of a double-headed hinge pin having coilsprings positioned between each head member and each leg member of theclothespin.

Single-piece, injection-molded, plastic clothespins are disclosed in US.Pat. Nos. 2,562,751; 2,591,477 and 3,305,904.

The double-ended clothespins of the prior art are characterized in thatthey require two separate leg members to be joined by springs or pins orcombinations thereof which entail added expense in forming the separatemembers and then assembling these members into the finished clothespin.The onepiece, single-ended, plastic clothespins used heretofore, ofcourse, do not provide the advantage inherent in a doubleendedclothespin.

Double-ended clothespins can be readily affixed to a clothesline withoutthe necessity of changing ends on the clothespin as often occurs whenutilizing the conventional single-ended clothespin. The clothespin ofthe present invention provides the advantage in that it can be appliedto the article on the clothesline using either end thereof.Additionally, the present clothespin has the following advantages: ithas a spring action similar to the conventional clothespin; provides asmooth, snagproof surface; is not damaged by exposure to weather; can bemass produced economically by injection molding; and involves no handassembly operations whatsoever.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION members and web define an outwardly directed,articlereceiving slot at each end of the clothespin. The web is ofsufficient width and thickness to resiliently oppose spreading apart ofthe pair of leg members at either end thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective, elevationalview of a double-ended clothespin constructed in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the double-ended clothespin of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a side view of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal, sectional view taken along the line 4-4 ofFlG.2; and

FIG. 5 is an end view of FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to FIGS. 1-5, oneembodiment of a doubleended clothespin of the present invention isdepicted and designated generally by the reference numeral 10. Theclothespin includes a pair of identical leg members 11a and 11b joinedtogether by a centrally positioned, integrally formed transverse web 12.The central portions 13-13 of the leg members are disposed substantiallyparallel to each other and are preferably integrally formed with andjoined to the transverse web 12. However, if desired, the web may beintegrally formed on one leg and subsequently attached to the other legmember by any suitable means. The inner portions 13-13 are preferablythicker than the outer portions 14- 14. The outer portions 14-14 of theleg members diverge at each end of the clothespin to provide inwardlytapering clothes receiving slots 15-15. As seen in FIGS. 1, 3 and 5,outer wall portions 14-14 have inner wall surfaces 16-16 which are flatand smooth to provide a snag-free surface for contacting clothing, etc.The inner walls 17-17 of the central portions 13-13 are provided withtransverse, opposed, arcuate recesses 18-18 adapted to receive theclothesline and tightly grip the article suspended by the clothespin.The innermost portions of the inner walls 17-17 are provided withsubstantially flat, parallel walls 19-19 which merge into the arcuatewall 20 of the web 12. If desired, the parallel walls 19-19 may beprovided with an additional set of opposed, arcuate recesses.

Each leg member is provided with an integrally formed, longitudinallyextending, reinforcing rib 21 on its outer wall. The rib 21 providesrigidity and reinforcement to each of the leg members 11a and 11b. Therib permits the use of thinner walls in both the central and outerportions of the leg members thereby reducing the quantity of plasticmaterial necessary to form the clothespin yet providing the leg memberswith sufficient rigidity to provide a secure gripping action.

The web 12 preferably extends across the full width of each of theopposed leg members; however, it may be less than full width ifsufficient spring action is still provided. The thickness of the web 12taken together with the rigidity of the plastic material from which theclothespin is made determines the spring action exerted by the opposedjaws of the clothespin. This thickness can be readily determined byexperimental means.

The clothespin of the present invention is preferably made from rigid orsemirigid plastic materials having high impact and flexural strengthsand a low fatigue factor. Many of the commercially available plasticmaterials are suitable for forming the clothespin by injection molding.Among the suitable plastic materials are thermoplastics such ashigh-impact polystyrene, polypropylene, high-density polyethylene,polyvinyl chloride, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymers,polycarbonates, polyformaldehydes, polyamides and polymethacrylates.Additionally, injection-moldable, thermosetting plastic materials may beused such as phenol-formaldehyde resins or melamine-formaldehyde resinsand others.

In one exemplary form of the clothespin of the present invention made byinjection-molding polypropylene, the clothespin had an overall length of2% inches. The opposed leg members were seven-sixteenths inch wide andthe reinforcing rib was one-sixteenth inch thick. The clothespin had athickness measured from the top portions of the ribs of nineteenthirty-seconds inch. The slot 15 was thirteen thirtyseconds inch wide atthe outer ends of the opposed leg members. The web 12 had a minimumthickness of three thirtyseconds inch and extended the fullseven-sixteenths inch width of the clothespin. The slot had a minimumdimension of nine sixty-fourths inch at the inner end thereof.

From the foregoing it can be readily seen that the doubleendedclothespin of the present invention provides a clothespin which isreadily mass produced very economically by injection-molding techniques.Additionally, the clothespin provides the advantage of strong grippingaction yet does not involve the use of separate springs and uses aminimum quantity of plastic material in each clothespin. The clothespinmay be produced in attractive, bright colors which are resistant tofading.

, flat, nonparallel, outwardly diverging, inner and outer wall Whilethere has been described what is at present considered preferredembodiments of the present invention, it will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be madewithout departing from the essence of the invention.

surfaces; and an integrally formed, transversely projecting, centrallypositioned rib with a flat top wall attached to and extending the fulllength of the outer wall of each leg.

(5/69) UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No.3,62%,675 Dated November 30 1911 Inventot-(s) Paul A. Marchant et a1 Itis certified that error appears in the and that said Letters Patent arehereby correct above-identified patent ed as shown below:

Item [72] reads "Paul A. Merchant", should read Paul A. Merchant TheAbstract, line 4, reads "web is sufficient", should read web is ofsufficient Column 1, line 12, reads "clothespin", should readClothespins Signed and sealed this 27th day of June 1972.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLETCHER,JR. ROBERT GOTTSCHALK Attesting Officer Commissionerof Patents

1. In a double-ended, one-piece, plastic clothespin the combinationcomprising: a pair of generally rectangular, oppositely disposed,spaced-apart leg members; an integrally formed, transverse web joiningsaid pair of legs at their midpoint, said leg members having centralportions with flat, parallel, outer wall surfaces, and flat, parallel,inner wall surfaces extending from said transverse web outwardly andterminating in oppositely disposed, arcuate recesses; said leg membershaving identical terminal portions extending outwardly from each end ofsaid central portion, which terminal portions each have flat,nonparallel, outwardly diverging, inner and outer wall surfaces; and anintegrally formed, transversely projecting, centrally positioned ribwith a flat top wall attached to and extending the full length of theouter wall of each leg.